Mich. Reports 2nd Straight Big Jobless Rate Drop

Michigan is reporting a second straight big drop in unemployment, with the rate down 2.1 percentage points in two months.

The Department of Technology, Management & Budget said Thursday that Michigan's seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate stood at 8.2% in September, down from 9.2% in August and 10.3% in July. The rate was 9.8% in September 2011.

The department says joblessness fell in all 17 of Michigan's major labor markets. It says the main reason was a shrinkage in the size of the labor force, down 36,000 since August.

The Detroit labor market's jobless rate fell to 10% in September, down from 10.9% in August. In the Grand Rapids area, joblessness fell to 6% from 6.9%